Bruins re-sign Chara for 7 years, $45.5 million

[Roy H.]

Chara, the 33-year-old Bruins' captain, today finalized a long-term contract extension with the Bruins, as reportered first on boston.com early this morning. Some two hours later, the club made the deal public, announcing that Chara signed a seven-year extension, through the 2017-'18 season.

The dollar amount was not released by the Bruins, but Chara will earn a total $45.5 million over the seven years. At that payout, he will earn $1 million less than the $7.5 million a year he has made since joining the Bruins in July 2006.

''Like I said [Friday], not an easy negotiation, for many reasons,'' said his Wellesley-based agent, Matt Keator. ''So many factors went into it...length of term, money, of course...and then everything that's happening around the league with long-term deals and the chance of another work stoppage in two years. But this will make Zee very happy.

''He's said all along Boston is the only place he wants to be, he's committed to bringing the Cup to Boston, and he's going to be around for a very long time in hopes of making that happen.''

In terms of a cap hit, the Bruins will be charged $6.5 million a season to keep Chara on the books, beginning in Oct. 2011.

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/extras/bruins_blog/2010/10/bruins_chara_ag.html

[shookones99]

Not the biggest hockey fan so I don't really know what I'm talking about.

But a 7 year deal for a 33 year old?   

[xmuscularghandix]

Not the biggest hockey fan so I don't really know what I'm talking about.

But a 7 year deal for a 33 year old?   

It’s not the same as basketball at all.

[ACF]

It didn't help them. Today, at least.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020012&navid=sb:recap

[dark_lord]

It didn't help them. Today, at least.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020012&navid=sb:recap

that game sucked 

[moiso]

never heard of him!

[ACF]

It didn't help them. Today, at least.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020012&navid=sb:recap

that game sucked 

Is this better?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020024

 

[mostofusrsad]

way too much money for chara...i like him but 7 years at that money at his age is just a little too much.

[xmuscularghandix]

way too much money for chara...i like him but 7 years at that money at his age is just a little too much.

No way, his defense against the other teams top player is as good as any other defenseman in the league. Plus he hasn't shown a single sign that he's nearing the end of his career.

lol at this thread creeping back up.

[greenpride32]

I don't follow hockey much after the lost season, but I believe these long term contracts are not guaranteed.  They are signed for cap breaks.  In fact a deal in the past year or two was so controversial the league nixed it saying the team had no intent to the keep the player that long and just wanted a cap benefit.  Will post more info if I can find it.  Anyways, don't view it like a basketball or baseball contract.

[greenpride32]

The Toronto Star's Damien Cox reports:

Talking to people throughout the hockey industry this morning, it was clear most expected that while Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year contract with the New Jersey Devils was a rather obvious - blatant? - attempt to circumvent the NHL's salary cap system, a number of similar contracts allowed in recent years by the NHL was going to make it difficult for arbitrator Richard Bloch to side with the league in its rejection of Kovalchuk's deal.

But Bloch did just that, saying the Kovalchuk contract "has the effect of defeating" the NHL's cap system.

..."In this case, the record strongly supports the claim this contract is “intended to, or has the effect” of defeating or circumventing the Salary Cap provisions of the CBA," wrote Bloch in his decision. "The overall structure of this (contract) reflects not so much the hope that Mr. Kovalchuk will be playing in those advanced years, but rather the expectation that he will not. This is a long contract --17 years -- the longest in NHL history. That, in itself, poses no contractual problem. . . . .  But Kovalchuk is 27 years old, and the agreement contemplates his playing until just short of his 44th birthday. That is not impossible, but it is, at the least, markedly rare. Currently, only one player in the League has played past 43 and, over the past 20 years only 6 of some 3400 players have played to 42.

[KungPoweChicken]

I won't be the first to say it, but he is overpaid.

[KungPoweChicken]

way too much money for chara...i like him but 7 years at that money at his age is just a little too much.

No way, his defense against the other teams top player is as good as any other defenseman in the league. Plus he hasn't shown a single sign that he's nearing the end of his career.

lol at this thread creeping back up.

But do you really want to pay a defenseman the most money on your team? I'm speculation here, someone else can look it up if they want, that a lot of other really good teams do not have a defenseman earning the most cash. The Penguins and the Canucks come to mind.

[TradeProposalDude]

The problem with Chara is that he is being misutilized. On the PP why is he standing in the front of the net? Why not use his 106 MPH shot at the point?

Chara appears dehydrated but since the MTL series I don't think he has been 100%. I can't blame him for his lackluster play in this series because he's being worked a lot and he is not in the most pristine health condition. It's not his fault that Boston's defensive core overall is weak. The Bs rely too much on Seidenberg and Chara to win games. Because there is a dramatic dropoff when players like Ference, Boychuk, and Kaberle are on the ice instead. As we saw in game 1, playing Boychuk in the last minute was a critical mistake because he made a careless decision that led to Vancover taking the lead.

As for the contract, I don't mind that he is signed for another 7 years. To win in this league you need an elite defenseman. Chara is that. He is a Norris trophy candidate and has been the last few seasons. He also conditions himself well during the offseason and is arguably the strongest player on the ice every night which makes it unlikely that he will decline dramatically at any point in his contract..

[Roy H.]

Chara is the second best player and an All-NHL defenseman who has helped lead the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.  He's worth whatever they're paying him.